Nelson Mandela

As dark as it might be in America today, there will be a time when Donald Trump is no longer president. Can the country heal from the wounds inflicted by the extraordinary partisanship we've seen? Yes, argues Ben Cohen. But it won't be easy.

'Selfies' at a funeral are the sort of thing you'd expect from Paris Hilton, not the President of the United States . Normally, the President would be due a snarky takedown, but not in an era when shaking the hand of Raul Castro during a funeral with every other global leader on the planet is described as 'shaming the nation'.

Leaders from all over the world gathered in a Johannesburg's FNB stadium to honor the passing of Nelson Mandela in a rain soaked ceremony filled with thousands of mourners. In what was the one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in recent history and watched by millions around the world, President Obama addressed the cheering crowds to give thanks for the life 'Madiba', a man he described as a 'giant of history' and 'the last great liberator of the 20th century'.

Really, Newt? You're "surprised" that your supporters out there in the American conservative wasteland are a bunch of ill-informed, reactionary assholes who can't see Mandela as anything more than a "commie terrorist?" Seriously? This shocks you?

World Net Daily is the black hole at the center of galactic wingnuttia. And its online reader poll on the "life and work" of Nelson Mandela is going just about as you'd expect. Leading the pack with 69 percent of the vote is the response: "He was a violent communist revolutionary who never should have been released from prison."

The weekend is almost here at last and you'll no doubt be clamoring for something to distract you from the nagging question of whether this is the Friday you'll finally be called into your boss's office and told to gather your things and leave. Here's some reading material.

While reading various articles about the life and passing of Nelson Mandela, curiosity got the best of me and I perused various right-wing blogs. The majority of the comments at Town Hall, Glenn Beck's The Blaze and, of course, Breitbart.com were predictably awful.